EXCLUSIVE: Obama to demand third-party panel for BP payouts — President Barack Obama plans to use a meeting with BP executives this week to demand that they create and fund an escrow account and accept an independent panel to handle damage claims by individuals and businesses hurt by the Gulf disaster …

Obama pleads for $50 billion in state, local aid — President Obama urged reluctant lawmakers Saturday to quickly approve nearly $50 billion in emergency aid to state and local governments, saying the money is needed to avoid “massive layoffs of teachers, police and firefighters” and to support the still-fragile economic recovery.

Paypal Cuts Off Atlas: Truth is the New Hate Speech — The little money that Atlas generates (I have no large donors) is about to be cut off. Apparently the jihad is hard at work trying to kill free speech (and the bus ads and the 911 no mosque movement), preventing it from making its way to those in pursuit of truth.

Goalkeeper blunder hands U.S. precious point vs. England — RUSTENBURG, South Africa — England's players couldn't get off the field fast enough. The Americans lingered to savor the night. — They walked to the end of Royal Bafokeng Stadium where thousands of red, white and blue-clad fans …

Revealed: Japan's bribes on whaling — A SUNDAY TIMES investigation has exposed Japan for bribing small nations with cash and prostitutes to gain their support for the mass slaughter of whales. — The undercover investigation found officials from six countries were willing to consider selling …

Son ‘stupid kid’ but not a terrorist, mom says — New York (CNN) — The mother of one of the two New Jersey men arrested last week at a New York airport allegedly on their way to fight with an al Qaeda-affiliated group in Somalia says the two men are guilty of stupidity — but not of the sinister plan described by authorities.

YouTube silences Latma, removes We Con the World — As Israel went offline for the Jewish sabbath, YouTube removed most versions of Latma's hit parody song We Con the World. If you try to access the song on YouTube you receive the notification: — This video is no longer available due …

Obama faces rare defeat on health help for jobless — WASHINGTON - If Chuck Lacasse had gotten his pink slip four days earlier, Uncle Sam would have covered most of his family's health insurance while he looked for a new job. — But Congress allowed emergency health care assistance …

Demystifying Charter Cities — Sebastian Mallaby has a good piece in the Atlantic on Paul Romer and the idea of “charter cities”—places that would be administered by credible developed democracies but inhabited by migrants from poor countries—that I recommend to one and all.

The Courage to Leave — There is no good news coming out of the depressing and endless war in Afghanistan. There once was merit to our incursion there, but that was long ago. Now we're just going through the tragic motions, flailing at this and that, with no real strategy or decent end in sight.